23 years jail for jilted boy who killed his ex and her sister in fire

A schoolboy who took revenge for being dumped by killing his ex-girlfriend and her sister in a house fire was jailed for life today.

Akmol Miah, 15, must serve at least 23 years behind bars for murdering 15-year-old Maleha Masud and Nabiha Masud, 21, at their home in Tooting.

Miah, who was 14 at the time, searched on Google for "how to burn someone's house down" the day before the attack in June last year. He had previously threatened Maleha that if she did not continue their relationship he would "do something to her and her family".

Old Bailey judge Christopher Moss told Miah: "These dreadful events happened for no better reason than that you wanted to inflict revenge on Maleha and her family for the fact that she ended your relationship."

The teenager recruited his cousin, waiter Shihabouddin Choudhury, to help start the fierce blaze by pouring petrol through the Masuds' letter box and setting light to it as the family slept. Choudhury, 21, was also given a life sentence today and was told he must serve at least 21 years in jail.

Maleha, described as "the baby of the family", died three days after the fire and Nabiha died a month later. Nabiha had been due to marry in October. Their mother Rubina, 55, and their brothers Zain, a 24-year-old banker, and schoolboy Junaid, 18, were injured but survived.

Miah, of Croydon, and Choudhury, of Nottingham, were both found guilty of murdering the sisters, and of the attempted murders of Rubina, Zain and Junaid Masud.